March 26, 2010

Good For Them

Republicans and Tea Party activists condemned the threats and violent actions directed at a host of lawmakers this week in the wake of the passage of health care reform, but warned Democrats not to make a political issue out of it.

Top Republicans, including House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said on Wednesday that they do not condone the violence, which has included broken windows at campaign offices, threatening phone calls and faxes, and a severed gas line at the home of a lawmaker's brother.

"I do not condone violence," Cantor said on Capitol Hill on Thursday. "There are no leaders in the building, no rank and file members that condone violence, period."

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor just gave a brief speech accusing Democrats of using reports of recent threats of violence for political gain, and saying someone shot a bullet through the window of his campaign office this week.

The Richmond Police Department is investigating an act of vandalism at the Reagan Building, 25 E. Main St., Richmond, Virginia. A first floor window was struck by a bullet at approximately 1 a.m. on Tuesday, March 23. The building, which has several tenants including an office used by Congressman Eric Cantor, was unoccupied at the time.

A Richmond Police detective was assigned to the case. A preliminary investigation shows that a bullet was fired into the air and struck the window in a downward direction, landing on the floor about a foot from the window. The round struck with enough force to break the windowpane but did not penetrate the window blinds. There was no other damage to the room, which is used occasionally for meetings by the congressman.